This invention is related generally to fences and, more particularly, to fences directed to the repelling of plant-damaging animals.
Backyard gardens are extremely popular. Americans spend great sums of money and effort in creating and maintaining these gardens. The gardens can be designed to provide fresh fruits, vegetables, and/or herbs for human consumption, to provide ornamentation, to attract particular fauna, to provide flowers with pleasant smells, or to provide a comfortable place for relaxation. The plants which make up the garden are subject to predation and disruption by vertebrate and invertebrate animals. An extensive industry exists for the chemical, electronic, and biological control of invertebrate pests. These controls are not effective against vertebrate pests such as rabbits.
To address this problem of vertebrate pests, two broad strategies presently exist, physical barriers and chemical repellants.
Physical barriers can be further divided into two broad categories: inanimate animal predators and enclosures. The former strategy utilizes replicas of predating animals such as hawks or owls, to act as xe2x80x9cscarecrows.xe2x80x9d These xe2x80x9cscarecrowsxe2x80x9d can be minimally effective for short duration until the pest learns that the inanimate structures pose no threat.
The latter category of physical barrier involves a degree of impenetrable barrier, usually in the form of a fence. The most effective barrier would totally enclose a plant to be protected, protecting from intrusion above and below. Such an enclosure is difficult to install, is difficult to maintain especially over large distances, is exceptionally difficult for humans to access, and is unsightly. Absent a total enclosure, fences can be scaled, vaulted, or tunneled under. Effectiveness is proportional to the height above the ground; yet the higher the fence, the more it intrudes into the aesthetics of the garden and the more it blocks light from reaching the plants. Moreover, the more substantial the fence is, the more unsightly and the more light-blocking in character it is.
Alternatively, chemical deterrents are used to repel. These typically take the form of natural substances such as blood meal and urine, or chemicals such as naphtha and Ro-pel(copyright), which work due to the offensive character of their odor. Offensive deterrents have at least three major drawbacks: in order to be effective, they must be used in substantial amounts which become offensive to humans; they are dependant on wind direction; and because they are water-soluble, they must be frequently reapplied, especially after each rain.
Delivery of a scent directed to vertebrate animals has been addressed by the Hunter Scent System of Fisher (U.S. Pat. No. 5,746,019). Such a system works well for its intended purpose by releasing a masking scent which travels the same air currents carrying the human scent to be masked. In this manner, the system is favorably dependant on wind direction. The Fisher invention does not translate well for garden use. First, it will not protect plants upwind of even a mild breeze. Second, quantities of scent necessary to mask a clean human are substantially less than the amounts necessary to repel hungry animals. Third, the hunter can easily monitor and refresh the Fisher-system device; even a brief failure of such a system in a plant-protection application would result in plant loss.
There is a need for a new fence which will protect plants from animals.
It is an object of this invention to provide an improved fence to repel plant-damaging animals overcoming some of the problems and shortcomings of the prior art.
Another object of this invention is to provide protection of plants from animals which are willing to burrow underneath a surface-touching fence.
Another object is to discourage damage to plants while adding to the aesthetics of a yard.
Still another object of the invention is to provide an effective plant-damaging-animal barrier which will not affect the consumability of fruits, vegetables, and herbs thereby protected.
It is another object of this invention to provide an easily installable barrier.
Creating a plant-damaging-animal fence which is flexible enough to follow the contours of a nonlinear garden border is still another object of this invention.
Another object of this invention is to provide a lightweight fence which is cost-effective.
It is yet another object of this invention to provide a series of repellant-containing tubes which can surround a group of plants to be protected, thereby minimizing the potential detrimental effects of wind direction in the delivery of the repellant.
Another object of this invention is to provide protection to plants from animals which protection is humane.
It is still yet another object of the invention to provide a simple apparatus to protect the repellant from water.
These and other objects of the invention will be apparent from the following descriptions and from the drawings.
The present invention is a fence for repelling plant-damaging animals. The invention is comprised of a row of tubes each having top and bottom ends, and a connector for attaching each tube to each adjacent tube. At least one of the tubes is a chemical-composition-containing tube which has at least one exit port. Within the at least one chemical-composition-containing tube is a chemical composition repellant to plant-damaging animals, whereby a repellant character of the chemical composition is releaseable from the at least one chemical-composition-containing tube through the exit port. It is preferable that the connector is flexible.
Tapering the bottom ends of the plurality of tubes yields a preferred embodiment.
In one embodiment of the invention, the tubes are metal. It is more preferred that the tubes are aluminum.
It is preferred that the top end of the chemical-composition-containing tube is open and communicates with the at least one exit port. In this way, the chemical may be introduced into the tube through the top, and when the top is left uncapped, the odor of the chemical may escape out of the tube top further inhibiting animals from going over the fence.
It is another preferred embodiment of the invention, a rain-diverting cap is added to removably cover the top end of the at least one chemical-composition-containing tube.
One repellant, chemical composition is blood meal. Another chemical composition is Milorganite(copyright).
It is preferred that the fence of the invention has tubes that are arranged such that a space exists between adjacent tubes within the row. In one embodiment, the space between the adjacent tubes is no more than one inch. In another embodiment, the space between the adjacent tubes is more than one inch, and in such case, a flexible screen is drawn between the adjacent tubes, thereby creating a light-transmitting, physical barrier to plant-damaging animals.
Another preferred embodiment of the fence further comprises a plurality of spacers, each having a first end with a first inlet and a second end with a second inlet, an exterior surface, and an interior surface, whereby the connector may leave the tube, enter the spacer through the first inlet, extend through the spacer, then exit the spacer through the second inlet before encountering the adjacent tube. The interior surface of each spacer may define a cavity capable of containing the chemical composition, such that the interior surface communicates with the exterior surface through at least one outlet, whereby the repellant character of the chemical composition may be released from the cavity through the at least one outlet. Further, the spacer may be rotatable about the connector.
Another aspect of this invention is a method for repelling plant-damaging animals. This method has the steps of: inserting a fence comprised of a plurality of a-rowed, parallel, substantially vertically-oriented tubes flexibly attached with respect to each other, each tube having an open top end and an exit port dispensed with respect to a bottom end communicating with the top end, into the ground such that the top of each tube extends above the ground, thereby enclosing an area to be protected; and inserting a quantity of chemical composition repellant to plant-damaging animals into the top end of at least one tube; whereby a repellant character of the chemical composition can be released from the exit port in order to repel plant-damaging animals.
It is highly preferred that the tubes be inserted into the ground to a depth no less than six inches.
In one embodiment of the method aspect of this invention, the exit port is below the ground. In another embodiment, the exit port is above the ground.
It is preferable for the tubes extend above the ground to a height of not less than twenty-four inches. It is even more preferable for the tubes to extend above the ground to a height of not less than thirty-six inches.
It is preferred in the method aspect of the invention that the tubes are arranged such that a space exists between adjacent tubes within the row. In one embodiment, the space between the adjacent tubes is no more than one inch. In another embodiment, the space between the adjacent tubes is more than one inch, and in such case, a flexible screen is drawn between the adjacent tubes, thereby creating a light-transmitting, physical barrier to plant-damaging animals.